Following World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French demarcated the region of Lebanon in 1920 and granted this area independence in 1943. Since independence the country has been marked by periods of political turmoil interspersed with prosperity built on its position as a regional center for finance and trade. The country's 1975-90 civil war that resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities, was followed by years of social and political instability. Sectarianism is a key element of Lebanese political life. Neighboring Syria has historically influenced Lebanon's foreign policy and internal policies, and its military occupied Lebanon from 1976 until 2005. The Lebanon-based Hizballah militia and Israel continued attacks and counterattacks against each other after Syria's withdrawal, and fought a brief war in 2006. Lebanon's borders with Syria and Israel remain unresolved.
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
33 50 N, 35 50 E
Middle East
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km
water: 170 sq km
about one-third the size of Maryland
total: 484 km
border countries (2): Israel 81 km, Syria 403 km
225 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; the Lebanon Mountains experience heavy winter snows
narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
mean elevation: 1,250 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qornet es Saouda 3,088 m
limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land
agricultural land: 63.3%
arable land 11.9%; permanent crops 12.3%; permanent pasture 39.1%
forest: 13.4%
other: 23.3% (2011 est.)
1,040 sq km (2012)
dust storms, sandstorms
deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
smallest country in continental Asia; Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity
6,237,738 (July 2016 est.)
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese
Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendants of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Muslim 54% (27% Sunni, 27% Shia), Christian 40.5% (includes 21% Maronite Catholic, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Greek Catholic, 6.5% other Christian), Druze 5.6%, very small numbers of Jews, Baha'is, Buddhists, Hindus, and Mormons
note: 18 religious sects recognized (2012 est.)
0-14 years: 24.65% (male 786,842/female 750,449)
15-24 years: 16.73% (male 534,040/female 509,663)
25-54 years: 44.44% (male 1,401,857/female 1,370,462)
55-64 years: 7.54% (male 220,020/female 250,288)
65 years and over: 6.64% (male 181,627/female 232,490) (2016 est.)
total dependency ratio: 47.3%
youth dependency ratio: 35.4%
elderly dependency ratio: 12%
potential support ratio: 8.3% (2015 est.)
total: 29.9 years
male: 29.3 years
female: 30.5 years (2016 est.)
0.85% (2016 est.)
14.4 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
-1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
the majority of the people live on or near the Mediterranean coast, and of these most live in and around the capital, Beirut; favorable growing conditions in the Bekaa Valley, on the southeastern side of the Lebanon Mountains, have attracted farmers and thus the area exhibits a smaller population density
urban population: 87.8% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 3.18% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
BEIRUT (capital) 2.226 million (2015)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
15 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
total: 7.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
total population: 77.6 years
male: 76.3 years
female: 78.9 years (2016 est.)
1.73 children born/woman (2016 est.)
6.4% of GDP (2014)
3.2 physicians/1,000 population (2011)
3.5 beds/1,000 population (2012)
improved:
urban: 99% of population
rural: 99% of population
total: 99% of population
unimproved:
urban: 1% of population
rural: 1% of population
total: 1% of population (2015 est.)
improved:
urban: 80.7% of population
rural: 80.7% of population
total: 80.7% of population
unimproved:
urban: 19.3% of population
rural: 19.3% of population
total: 19.3% of population (2015 est.)
0.06% (2015 est.)
2,400 (2015 est.)
100 (2015 est.)
30.8% (2014)
2.6% of GDP (2013)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.9%
male: 96%
female: 91.8% (2015 est.)
total: 12 years
male: 12 years
female: 12 years (2013)
total: 22.1%
male: 22.3%
female: 21.5% (2007 est.)
conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah
local short form: Lubnan
former: Greater Lebanon
etymology: derives from the Semitic root "lbn" meaning "white" and refers to snow-capped Mount Lebanon
parliamentary republic
name: Beirut
geographic coordinates: 33 52 N, 35 30 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakkar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa, Beyrouth (Beirut), Liban-Nord (North Lebanon), Liban-Sud (South Lebanon), Mont-Liban (Mount Lebanon), Nabatiye
22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Independence Day, 22 November (1943)
drafted 15 May 1926, adopted 23 May 1926; amended several times, last in 2004 (2016)
mixed legal system of civil law based on the French civil code, Ottoman legal tradition, and religious laws covering personal status, marriage, divorce, and other family relations of the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian communities
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Lebanon
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: unknown
21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education; excludes military personnel
chief of state: President Michel AWN (since 31 October 2016)
head of government: Prime Minister Saad al-HARIRI (since 18 December 2016); Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan HASBANI (since 18 December 2016)
cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and National Assembly
elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly with two-thirds majority vote in the first round and if needed absolute majority vote in a second round for a 6-year term (eligible for non-consecutive terms); (next to be held in 2022); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly
election results: Michel AWN elected president; National Assembly vote in second round - Michel AWN (FPM) 83; note - in the initial election held on 23 April 2014, no candidate received the required two-thirds vote, and subsequent attempts failed because the National Assembly lacked a quorum to hold a vote; the president was elected in the 46th attempt on 31 October 2016
description: unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Nuwab in Arabic or Assemblee Nationale in French (128 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by majority vote; members serve 4-year terms); note - seats are apportioned among the Christian and Muslim denominations
note: Lebanon’s Constitution states the National Assembly cannot conduct regular business until it elects a president when the position is vacant
elections: last held on 7 June 2009 (next to be held in May 2017)
election results: percent of vote by coalition - March 8 Coalition 54.7%, March 14 Coalition 45.3%; seats by coalition - March 14 Coalition 71; March 8 Coalition 57; seats by coalition following 16 July 2012 byelection held to fill one seat - March 14 Coalition 72, March 8 Coalition 56
highest court(s): Court of Cassation or Supreme Court (organized into 8 chambers, each with a presiding judge and 2 associate judges); Constitutional Council (consists of 10 members)
judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges appointed by Supreme Judicial Council, a 10-member body headed by the chief justice, and includes other judicial officials; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Council members appointed - 5 by the Council of Ministers and 5 by parliament; members serve 5-year terms
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; specialized tribunals, religious courts; military courts
14 March Coalition: Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad al-HARIRI]
Kata'ib Party [Sami GEMAYEL]
Lebanese Forces or LF [Samir JA'JA]
Marada Movement [Sulayman FRANJIEH]
Social Democrat Hunshaqian Party [Sebouh KELPAKIAN]
Hizballah-led bloc (formerly 8 March Coalition):
Amal Movement [Nabih BERRI]
Ba’th Arab Socialist Party of Lebanon [Fayez SHUKR]
Free Patriotic Movement or FPM [Gibran BASSIL]
Hizballah [Hassan NASRALLAH]
Islamic Actions Front [Sheikh Zuhair al-JU’AYD]
Marada Movement [Sulayman FRANJIEH]
Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSO]
Tashnag or Armenian Revolutionary Federation [Hagop PAKRADOUNIAN]
Independent: Progressive Socialist Party or PSP [Walid JUNBLATT]
Grand Mufti of Lebanon [Sheikh Abdul Latif DERIAN]
Maronite Church [Patriarch Bishara al-RA'I]
note: most sects retain militias and a number of Sunni militant groups operate in Palestinian refugee camps
ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaries Carla JAZZAR (since 28 January 2016)
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300
FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324
consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, Los Angeles
chief of mission: Ambassador Elizabeth H. RICHARD (since May 2016)
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon (Awkar facing the Municipality)
mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; from US: US Embassy Beirut, 6070 Beirut Place, Washington, DC 20521-6070
telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600
FAX: [961] (4) 544136
three horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band; the red bands symbolize blood shed for liberation, the white band denotes peace, the snow of the mountains, and purity; the green cedar tree is the symbol of Lebanon and represents eternity, steadiness, happiness, and prosperity
cedar tree; national colors: red, white, green
name: "Kulluna lil-watan" (All Of Us, For Our Country!)
lyrics/music: Rachid NAKHLE/Wadih SABRA
note: adopted 1927; chosen following a nationwide competition
Lebanon has a free-market economy and a strong laissez-faire commercial tradition. The government does not restrict foreign investment; however, the investment climate suffers from red tape, corruption, arbitrary licensing decisions, complex customs proce
The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and derailed Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Following the civil war, Lebanon rebuilt much of its war-torn physical an
Spillover from the Syrian conflict, including the influx of more than 1.1 million registered Syrian refugees, has increased internal tension and slowed economic growth to the 1-2% range in 2011-16, after four years of averaging 8% growth. Syrian refugees
$85.16 billion (2016 est.)
$84.32 billion (2015 est.)
$83.48 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
$51.82 billion (2015 est.)
1% (2016 est.)
1% (2015 est.)
2% (2014 est.)
$18,500 (2016 est.)
$18,500 (2015 est.)
$18,500 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
2% of GDP (2016 est.)
1.1% of GDP (2015 est.)
-1.6% of GDP (2014 est.)
household consumption: 93.4%
government consumption: 13.7%
investment in fixed capital: 27.2%
investment in inventories: 0.6%
exports of goods and services: 20.2%
imports of goods and services: -55.1% (2016 est.)
agriculture: 5.7%
industry: 25%
services: 69.4% (2016 est.)
citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats
banking, tourism, food processing, wine, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating
1.4% (2016 est.)
1.628 million
note: does not include as many as 1 million foreign workers, nor refugees (2013 est.)
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
NA%
28.6% (2004 est.)
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
revenues: $9.953 billion
expenditures: $14.44 billion (2016 est.)
19.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
-8.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
161.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
147.6% of GDP (2015 est.)
note: data cover central government debt, and exclude debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as in
calendar year
-1% (2016 est.)
-3.8% (2015 est.)
3.5% (31 December 2010)
10% (31 December 2009)
8.2% (31 December 2016 est.)
7.09% (31 December 2015 est.)
$6.466 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$5.998 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$55.48 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$52.15 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$103.8 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$97.05 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$11.22 billion (30 December 2014 est.)
$10.54 billion (30 December 2013 est.)
$10.42 billion (28 December 2012 est.)
-$10.56 billion (2016 est.)
-$10.65 billion (2015 est.)
$3.108 billion (2016 est.)
$3.551 billion (2015 est.)
jewelry, base metals, chemicals, consumer goods, fruit and vegetables, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper
Saudi Arabia 12.1%, UAE 10.6%, Iraq 7.6%, Syria 7.1%, South Africa 6.6% (2015)
$17.98 billion (2016 est.)
$16.71 billion (2015 est.)
petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco, electrical machinery and equipment, chemicals
China 11.5%, Italy 7.1%, Germany 6.8%, France 6%, US 5.7%, Russia 4.6%, Greece 4.4% (2015)
$47.74 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$48.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$40.74 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$37.08 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$NA
$NA
Lebanese pounds (LBP) per US dollar -
1,507.5 (2016 est.)
1,507.5 (2015 est.)
1,507.5 (2014 est.)
1,507.5 (2013 est.)
1,507.5 (2012 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2016)
18 billion kWh (2014 est.)
16 billion kWh (2014 est.)
0 kWh (2013 est.)
100 million kWh (2014 est.)
2.3 million kW (2014 est.)
90.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
9.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
143,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
139,900 bbl/day (2013 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
150.1 million cu m (2010 est.)
0 cu m (2013 est.)
150.1 million cu m (2010 est.)
0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)
16 million Mt (2013 est.)
total subscriptions: 970,000
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16 (July 2015 est.)
total: 4.4 million
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 71 (July 2015 est.)
general assessment: repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete
domestic: two mobile-cellular networks provide good service; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership almost 90 per 100 persons
international: country code - 961; submarine cable links to Cyprus, Egypt, and Syria; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria (2015)
7 TV stations, 1 of which is state owned; more than 30 radio stations, 1 of which is state owned; satellite and cable TV services available; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible through partner stations (2007)
.lb
total: 4.577 million
percent of population: 74% (July 2015 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 2
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 21
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,583,274
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 53,902,026 mt-km (2015)
OD (2016)
8 (2013)
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2013)
total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2013)
1 (2013)
gas 88 km (2013)
total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m gauge
note: rail system unusable due to damage sustained from fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2008)
total: 6,970 km (includes 170 km of expressways) (2005)
total: 29
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 7, carrier 17, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: 2 (Syria 2)
registered in other countries: 34 (Barbados 2, Cambodia 5, Comoros 2, Egypt 1, Georgia 1, Honduras 2, Liberia 1, Malta 6, Moldova 1, Panama 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Sierra Leone 2, Togo 6, unknown 1) (2010)
major seaport(s): Beirut, Tripoli
container port(s) (TEUs): Beirut (1,034,249)
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Lebanese Army ((Al Jaysh al Lubnani) includes Lebanese Navy (Al Quwwat al Bahiriyya al Lubnaniya), Lebanese Air Force (Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Lubnaniya)) (2013)
17-30 years of age for voluntary military service; 18-24 years of age for officer candidates; no conscription (2013)
4.04% of GDP (2012)
4.06% of GDP (2011)
4.04% of GDP (2010)
lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon has been in place since 1978
refugees (country of origin): 452,669 (Palestinian refugees); 7,234 (Iraq) (2015); 1,033,513 (Syria) (2016)
IDPs: 12,000 (2007 Lebanese security forces' destruction of Palestinian refugee camp) (2015)
stateless persons: undetermined (2014); note - tens of thousands of persons are stateless in Lebanon, including many Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Syrian Kurds denaturalized in Syria in 1962, children born to Lebanese women married to foreign or stateless men; most babies born to Syrian refugees, and Lebanese children whose births are unregistered
current situation: Lebanon is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking and a transit point for Eastern European women and children subjected to sex trafficking in other Middle Eastern countries; women and girls from South and Southeast Asia and an increasing number from East and West Africa are recruited by agencies to work in domestic service but are subject to conditions of forced labor; under Lebanon’s artiste visa program, women from Eastern Europe, North Africa, and the Dominican Republic enter Lebanon to work in the adult entertainment industry but are often forced into the sex trade; Lebanese children are reportedly forced into street begging and commercial sexual exploitation, with small numbers of Lebanese girls sex trafficked in other Arab countries; Syrian refugees are vulnerable to forced labor and prostitution
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List – Lebanon does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; in 2014, Lebanon was granted a waiver from an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because its government has a written plan that, if implemented would constitute making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; law enforcement efforts in 2014 were uneven; the number of convicted traffickers increased, but judges lack of familiarity with anti-trafficking law meant that many offenders were not brought to justice; the government relied heavily on an NGO to identify and provide service to trafficking victims; and its lack of thoroughly implemented victim identification procedures resulted in victims continuing to be arrested, detained, and deported for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked (2015)
cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002 despite continued significant cannabis consumption; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption; money laundering of drug proceeds fuels concern that extremists are benefiting from drug trafficking
